Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Is in Stores Now. If You Own a PS3, Buy It.

Posted on January 22, 2013 by geelw

Granted, if you own a PS3 and all you play is the yearly Madden, CoD or other manly-man, chest-puffing, square-jawed games that require hyphenation when describing them, welllll… perhaps you shouldn’t buy this. But then again, why the hell not, I say? I think you should take a well-deserved break from the testosterone-fueled sausage-fests and get out in the beautiful virtual outdoors only Level-5 and Studio Ghibli can bring your way, courtesy of Namco Bandai Games, of course. No matter what sort of beefy action or sports games you like, you absolutely NEED to dive into something lighter (but still challenging). Ni no Kuni offers up some absolutely beautiful visuals, a score for the ages, surprisingly tough battles and many hours of content that doesn’t require you hanging out online downloading or waiting on your stumble-bum buddies to roll out of bed or back home from whatever they were doing when they were supposed to meet up with you hours ago. Anyway, STORY matters as well (yeah, I watch stuff on AMC. So sue me), and this game will make you more emotional than the time you accidentally rubbed your eye while eating those hot wings last week while watching your team lose and not make the playoffs. Yeah, that’s right – you need a good game that will hook you in and make you care about more than some bad call a guy with bad eyesight in a striped shirt made. Anyway, I bet you know someone who’d play this game even if YOU won’t… so get up off that sofa, you slug and do the right thing… You’ll be a more rounded gamer for it, trust me…

The Elder Scrolls Online: It’s Beta Sign-Up Time!

Posted on January 22, 2013 by geelw

I’ve been following TES Online for a while now and while I won’t be diving into this one at all (I have an awful internet connection, prefer my fantasy RPGs offline and solo play with no PVP nonsense or dealing with jerks of the helpful and unhelpful variety), I won’t stop YOU from joining the beta and helping with the stress testing on the first ever Elder Scrolls MMO. I do respect that the dev team at ZeniMax isn’t simply tossing out a game set in the same era as the single player TES games from Bethsoft. With a thousand years or so separating this new game from the more familiar lands some of us ancient fans have explored many times over, there’s room to do pretty much anything with the history that won’t step on the toes of past or future RPGs. Of course, I’m hoping Bethesda has at least started working out concepts and early pre-production work on the follow up to Skyrim (and that they make a game that’s much more stable on any console it gets made for)…

Defiance Pre-Orders Kick Off: MMO Innovation Is On The Way…

Posted on January 21, 2013 by geelw

If any MMO deserves to succeed in a far too crowded market, it’s Trion Worlds’ upcoming action-based tie-in the the upcoming syfy TV show. As you can see above and below, it’s absolutely NOT another licensed game tossed out the door by a studio looking to cash in on the rubes who buy anything attached to a genre like clockwork, folks. At least five years of hard work has gone into the game and show and they’re kind of joined at the hip in that watching the show and playing the game link the narrative in a few ways. Like a few other MMO’s you’re paying for the retail version, but the game will be free to play after that. While offline play is a no-go (a shame, as the game is fast-paced and plays just like a great action game should) I’m hoping it does well enough that Trion can spin this off onto other platforms in some way as a solo experience that doesn’t require an online connection. I’d bet there are loads of potential players without decent online connections that would love to give this one a shot at some point. As always, we shall see…

BioShock Ultimate Rapture Edition: Now Bundled For Your Gaming Pleasure…

Posted on January 21, 2013 by geelw

In case you missed out on the original award-winning BioShock and its sequel, 2K Games has done you a huge favor and bundled the pair together as the Ultimate Rapture Edition along with every bit of download content for both games and yes, you can grab this NOW at your favorite brick & mortar or online game emporium as a retail version for the PS3 and Xbox 360. If you happen to be one of those folks who lives in a shoebox and has no space of who just wants your games digitally, methinks you are out of luck, you console hating loopy soul, you. For the record, neither game has much to do with the upcoming BioShock Infinite save for certain gameplay elements, unsettling enemy designs and a story that tosses a few moral curve balls your way as you play. I’ve got both games here, but no DLC for them, so I may just pick this up at some point. The $29.99 price tag (which includes $40 of bonus content) is certainly right on the money and I can see a few new players grabbing this up to play before 2K Games and Irrational get their new game out the door on March 26 of this year.

Champagne for everybody! Or, at least the nose-tickling bubbles part, given the underwater city setting and all those Big Daddies and Little Sisters you’ll be interacting with in both titles. If you’re one of those jaded types saying “Aw, who wants to play THOSE old games?”, well, kid – the classics never, ever die. SO shaddup and eye yer oatmeal, ya brats – I put broccoli in it with some sugar so you won’t even notice. Damn kids…

Review: Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable

Posted on January 20, 2013 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation Vita

Developer: SANDLOT

Publisher: D3Publisher of America

# of Players: 1 – 4

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: A (95%)

Much more than a straightforward “port” of the former Xbox 360 exclusive, Earth Defense Force 3 Portable comes screaming onto the Vita as the game developer Sandlot most likely wanted to make in the first place. The return of Pale Wing and her energy-based weaponry (from EDF 2 on the PS2 and EDF 2 Portable PSP) adds a new way to experience the game while an up to four-player co-op mode, rebalanced and all-new weapon drops, new enemy types, trophies galore and seven new levels makes this an absolute must-buy for anyone with a Vita. For those who’ve played the 360 version to death, there’s definitely enough new content there to get you equally obsessed (and yes, perhaps it’s finally time to get that Vita if you’ve been on the fence). Don’t let that $39.99 price point for a download put you off one bit, as there are dozens, if not over a hundred hours of gameplay here, especially if you’re looking to grab one really hard to obtain Platinum Trophy.

Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end): The Baby

Posted on January 19, 2013 by geelw

(Thank you, NoMoreHeroes!)

As far as commercial horror flicks of the 1970’s go they don’t get more disturbing than The Baby, a completely bizarre 1973 gem you have to see to believe. And even after you’ve seen it, you’ll probably want to watch it again just to make sure you weren’t having a really wild nightmare. Granted, the film has a few major flaws, some of which come from the writing and pacing. But chances are you’ll be so thrown off by some of the surreal acting and completely insane scenes that you’ll forgive this one for its faults.

It’ll definitely stick in your head for a while afterward, especially if you don’t see the surprise ending winding up to knock you right off the couch. Anajette Comer plays Ann, a social worker who is given the case of Baby, a 21-year old man kept in diapers and an oversize crib by his overbearing mother played by the gorgeous Ruth Roman (channeling Joan Crawford, Joan Collins and Liz Taylor) and two very pretty, very sexy yet verrrrrry peculiar sisters (Marianna Hill and Susanne Zenor). For sheer squirm in your seat value, the film scores big by tossing assorted mental and physical abuses into your lap and letting you figure out where the hell it’s going before taking a big U-turn into WTF territory… Continue reading →

Cyberpunk 2077 CG Trailer: Bright Future For A Dark RPG…

Posted on January 19, 2013 by geelw

OK, I only vaguely recall Mike Pondsmith and his pen & paper role-playing game Cyberpunk 2020 from a few friends who raved about it back in the day (and I think an old magazine ad or two), so I was initially hoping CD Projekt RED would be changing the rather generic sounding name of their current work in progress, Cyberpunk 2077. Now that I see what’s what, they can not only keep the name and release all the cool-looking non-gameplay CG trailers they want, hell, they can go and make this back into a board game if they want and I’ll still buy it. Granted, we can expect a lot more from the folks who brought The Witcher to life in two fantastically deep mature-rated PC RPGs (yeah, go play them if you haven’t), so fasten your seat belts and expect a wild ride as more info and eventually gameplay footage starts popping up in a few…

Pandora’s Tower (YES!) Headed to Wii This Spring (Thanks Again, Xseed!)

Posted on January 19, 2013 by geelw

Holy Cats. I hadn’t expected the last Wii RPG on the list of the final three major ones fans have been clamoring for to ever get the OK for a US localization, but Xseed Games comes through yet again thanks to the successes of Mistwalkers stunning epic, The Last Story as well as Nintendo having a hit with the very well received Monolith game Xenoblade Chronicles in 2012. Anyway, color me thrilled to see one more (and one final) Wii RPG coming out. Gambarion’s gorgeous Pandora’s Tower seems to be the fastest-paced and most action oriented of the three games with time being a factor in terms of what sort of ending players will reach. Granted, this also looks to be a game that bets on players going through it many times to see everything it has to offer (which is absolutely fine with me)…

As good as this news is, I’m hoping we get to see one final Wii game headed stateside. While it’s not a JRPG, the Sandlot-developed all-out action game Zangeki no Reginleiv is BEGGING for a US localization. Yeah, yeah, Nintendo published it in Japan and ignored an English translation so Xseed will need to convince them that the game is indeed worthy of a plane trip west. I say if they poll their fan base and get the proper response, it’s entirely possible that we get one final Wii hit. Unless Sandlot is quietly working on a Wii U update in HD (which would be even better because they can fix a few technical issues the original game has and perhaps add GamePad support so two players can have at it with or without split screen). Anyway, go pre-order PT from GameStop or Amazon (both sites list a March 26, 2013 release date, which is coming sooner than you think) if you’re dancing around the room because of the news.

Random Film of the Week Quickie: From Hell It Came

Posted on January 18, 2013 by geelw

(Thanks, Blazing Trailers!)

Oh, I should have done this one a while back as a RFoTW, but I kept hoping SOME smart cable station would show it again because I haven’t seen it in ages. That hasn’t happened, but there was a DVD release back in 2009 from Warner Bros., meaning you too can snap this up and check it out legally at some point. Sure, this 1957 flick has a hilarious looking tree monster (once you see that Tobanga, you’ll have it stuck in your head for a few days), a plot chock full of wormy holes and you can’t say those natives are anything resembling realistic.

Nevertheless, the film works in it’s own weird way as a sort of remake of Universal’s classic The Mummy, only in a quasi-Polynesian setting with an unstoppable wooden fiend as the monster to be feared. As for actual scares, there are a few here and there and as a kid, I think I laughed a lot at/with it only after I saw the film once or twice and realized it just wasn’t that frightening. Of course, most modern folks will be doubled over laughing at all that’s on display, but I guess it’s better than beating oneself on the head with a real tree branch after one too many hits off a pipe full of funny smelling dried leaves, right?

Anyway, I’m not sure if this flick helped inspire the Swamp Thing or Man-Thing at all, but it’s not hard to see that stiff tree thing being accepted into the Parliament of Trees based on his looks and mythology, getting piss drunk off his wooden ass at the bar there and getting kicked out later for peeing in the bushes. Anyway, someone REALLY on the ball needs to start preserving/restoring these old horror and sci-fi gems so they can be aired on a rotating basis. As in on a REAL horror/sci-fi channel run by genre fans, not a corporation that shoves out the same old crap reruns and lousy made for TV movies that are intentionally awful because they “think” they know what fans want.

If only they knew…

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Wii U, 3DS Bound In March

Posted on January 18, 2013 by geelw

Excellent news and even better, there’s a demo dropping on the eShop on February 21. Of course, you’re SOL if your Wii U isn’t being used online, so let’s hope Capcom cooks up some actual demo DISCS for those gamers who want to try this out. They did this with Monster Hunter 3 on the Wii (which was one of a very few Wii games that actually got a demo disc). Given that this series has gotten a few titles yet to be released in the US, the most dedicated US fans of Capcom’s long-running Monster Hunter franchise who can’t afford to buy all those consoles (or are willing to learn Japanese) are probably some of the most frustrated gamers out there. Granted, the game may be huge in Japan (they’ve gotten custom MH-themed consoles), but it’s still more of a niche title here thanks to the somewhat complex control scheme that’s guaranteed to fluster newbies right out of diving in for extended play sessions.

Me, I love the game world and humor and art direction, but I’m old (*creak*, *groan*)and like my action games a bit less timed and a bit more free roaming. Still, MH3U has that gravity pull thing going for it where once you’re hooked, you’ll keep forging ahead until you get it done. I’d LOVE to see Capcom actually bring Dragon’s Dogma to the Wii U at some point (even though it looks as if that won’t happen) simply because that game had the feel of a Monster Hunter game with a lot more going for it in terms of openness and overall setting. That and outdoor areas aren’t broken up into separate “rooms” with load screens between them…